Novellas

"I am not beautiful..."

Knife's entire existence has been as twisted as his flesh and his face. The only thing beautiful in his life is his sister. When Gwennie is obliged to turn a suitor down because she fears to leave her brother to the brutality of their village, Knife is desperate for anything to ensure her happiness.

Her suitor's cousin offers him a way out, but it won't be easy. Aerie-Smith has been cursed to walk upright in the form of a beast, and his beloved village suffers from the same spell. Aerie-Smith offers Gwen a trousseau and some hope, if only Knife will keep him company on his island for the span of a year and perform one "regrettable task" at year's end.

Knife is unprepared for the form the island's curse takes on his own misshapen body. In one moment of magic, he is given the body of his dreams—and he discovers that where flesh meets spirit and appearance meet reality, sometimes the only place to find truth is in the darkness of a lover's arms.

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A Work Out Story

Taking advantage of a free pass from work, Maddoc decides to try out a fitness center. After meeting up with a friend, Dan, and making dinner plans, Maddoc meets Ivan, a hunky, silver-haired ex-Marine who gives him a ride home. Soon Maddoc finds himself with a new friend, a workout partner, a protector... and maybe something more, as a simmering attraction comes to life between him and Ivan. After moving too fast in previous relationships that fell apart, Maddoc wants to start slow—wants to make sure it can last. Luckily, Ivan is willing to wait.

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It's while walking along a quiet road that Tion and Kail unexpectedly collide with Conway, a misguided man on a quest to resolve a potentially terrible truth: he's cursed with bad luck—bad luck that transfers to Tion and Kail in a most unexpected and inconvenient way!

Now they must aid Conway on his quest. Along the way, they'll meet duped villagers, a frighteningly ravenous "woof," and their only hope for salvation: a reluctant warrior wizard named Wylde who may be able to bring the trio, and himself, to an extraordinary happy ending.

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When Lander’s Great Aunt Angie is shipped off to a convalescent home, she asks him to house-sit. Soon enough he finds out why: she wants him to keep James, a rather attractive and benevolent Victorian ghost, company. Their new friendship is threatened when a not-so-benevolent and very menacing burglar breaks into the house, threatening Lander—and the last thing he expects is for James to come to the rescue.

A part of the Dreamspinner Press 2010 Daily Dose Set, Midsummer's Nightmare which includes 30 M/M stories of supernatural romance that may feature an edge of suspense and heart-pounding fear; a taste of the paranormal worlds of ghosts, vampires, and werewolves; and even the stuff of nightmares and dreamscapes.

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For Rory, his band landing a well-paid private gig at a wild, remote mountain lodge is a wish come true. He needs the money bad enough to go along with all the strange clauses in their contract with the mysterious group. The one that specifies everyone must be in committed relationships? Hell, he can just fake it for a week with his bandmate, Benny.

Jared has his hands full trying to manage this year’s Solstice ceremony with his nephew and heir, Curtis, coming of age and into his powers. Giving in to Curtis’s request to book the band was probably a huge mistake, but with ironclad rules in place, Jared should be able to keep the youngsters under control. Or so he thinks, until he meets Rory. Suddenly, he’s fighting for his own control. And when Rory’s past catches up with him, it threatens to expose Jared’s biggest secret... his clan’s very existence. The good news? Rory’s nemesis has finally given up on him. The bad news? He’s taken Curtis....

A part of the 2010 Daily Dose Set, Midsummer's Nightmare, which includes 30 M/M stories of supernatural romance that may feature an edge of suspense and heart-pounding fear; a taste of the paranormal worlds of ghosts, vampires, and werewolves; and even the stuff of nightmares and dreamscapes.

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S’ankhibthot is an ancient Egyptian trapped in a relationship with an insane warlock. Tucker Bradshaw is a modern gay man whose cheating lover has brought him to the brink of despair. Both men long for real love. When Tucker flees to Egypt, will the fates and ancient gods be able to bring them together across the sands of three thousand years? And if they do, how does the warlock feel about his lover S’an finding someone new in the modern world?

A part of the Dreamspinner Press 2010 Daily Dose Set, Midsummer's Nightmare, which includes 30 M/M stories of supernatural romance that may feature an edge of suspense and heart-pounding fear; a taste of the paranormal worlds of ghosts, vampires, and werewolves; and even the stuff of nightmares and dreamscapes.

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A Hot Cargo Story

When the Starfire is struck by a mysterious and deadly plague, the captain and crew have no choice but to throw themselves on the mercy of the healers of a nearby, uncharted planet. First Officer Ryan Nelson accompanies the sickest patients to the planet’s surface, where he is put under the supervision of Juo-ta-ri, an apprentice to one of the healers who is helping the crew. The two have barely begun to explore the chemistry between them when Ryan’s body betrays him and he falls ill as well. Now it’s a race against time to see if Juo can bring the fever down before Ryan’s hallucinations kill him.

2nd Edition
First Edition published in the Dreamspinner Press anthology Size Matters.

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After an attempt to diffuse an explosive situation, Lee Hunter and Jeremy Sheridan end up taking the heat for the conflict and become friends. While researching a tragic local story for Jeremy’s magazine, Idaho Pride, Lee agrees to mentor Luis, a troubled young intern. But Jeremy has a problem of his own: a jealous ex-lover who threatens not only Jeremy and Lee's new romance, but also the fledgling family they're trying to create.

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Hoping further to expose the fallacy of "reparative therapy" for non-heterosexuals, writer Misha Tzerko enrolls in a weeklong program at the Stronger Wings Camp and Conference Center. He's already lost a long-term boyfriend to the ex-gay movement—Robbie abandoned him for a straight life complete with wife—and for his own closure as well as his job at Options magazine, Misha intends to get an inside look at the ministry established by C. Everett Hammer III.

Misha is shocked and dismayed to find someone else from his past at Stronger Wings, a man with whom he shared two brief but captivating encounters. He knows he can’t save everyone in the program, but he's determined to save Jude Stone... no matter what it takes.

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Actor MacAlester Kerr wanders into a whole new world of pampering and pleasure when his director sends him to Evan's Heaven for a pedicure. When Mac meets the spa's owner, Evan York, he finds himself head over heels and up to his eyebrows as Evan spoils him like no one ever has before.

Whether it's a paraffin manicure, an herbal body wrap, or even a sugar waxing, Evan makes every treatment special with his own brand of kinky accompaniment. But when Mac wants to take things farther than Evan ever expected, will it lead to trouble in paradise?

2nd Edition
First Edition published in the Dreamspinner Press anthology Size Matters.

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Art history student Rodrigo is in the middle of a busy semester when he literally runs into a sexy librarian. He and Ian discover they have more in common than just instant attraction and friendship; there's a kinky element to their affair they both enjoy. But Rodrigo is also drawn to Professor Daniel Sullivan, and he just can't shake the desire he feels for the older man.

The end of the term reveals a few surprising secrets about both objects of Rodrigo's desires, and while he's thrilled by the games of trust and passion with Ian, it's fantasies of Daniel dominating him that are setting Rodrigo on fire.

2nd Edition
First Edition published in the Dreamspinner Press anthology Size Matters.

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Lieutenant Robert Pierce of the Royal Navy was raised in the shadow of his father, a great admiral, and has spent his life on the high seas fighting the ships of Napoelon Bonaparte. When he loses a leg in battle and is confined to land, Robert is devastated. Taken in by his sister Maria, Robert faces the infamously cold, wet summer of 1816 trying to adjust to his new life. It's made all the gloomier by his worry for his best friend and lover, Lieutenant John Burgess, who is still at sea... until a visitor brings a bright ray of sunshine into Robert's overcast life.

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For eight months, the peculiar circumstances surrounding the sudden death of Steven Brandwein's lover, an enigmatic ex-priest, have weighted his mourning with mystery. Desperate for emotional closure, Steve makes a journey he's put off for years: he travels to the town that was once an integral part of his late lover's life. Steve hopes his pilgrimage will help him better understand Frank, serve as a final farewell, and allow him to move on.

His visit to St. Jerome's Church one snowy, silent night proves more consequential than he'd ever anticipated. Evan McAllister, an unassuming man still grieving over the death of his son, befriends Steve. As their bond grows, they both make startling discoveries—not the least of which, for Steve, is that he's ready to love again.

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Aaron has no idea what he's walking into when he shows up to pose for a famous—and famously bad-tempered—photographer. He certainly doesn't expect to end up working as Jake's assistant for five frustrating, thrilling, and crazy years instead of in front of the camera.

It all works until Jake realizes Aaron has become the focus of his life, a life that's threatened when Aaron actually leaves him to start a relationship with someone else. Though it breaks his heart, Jake realizes he has to set his beloved muse free to have any chance of winning Aaron back.

2nd Edition
First edition published in the Dreamspinner Press anthology Size Still Matters.

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By day Cooper Miller is a bland paper pusher, a health and safety inspector who does everything by the book. Deciding he needs some excitement in his life, he sheds his off-the-rack suit and tan raincoat and signs up for an introductory session at a BDSM club. His welcome mat turns out to be Nando Arenas, the man who owns the new tattoo shop Cooper inspected just that morning. At first glance, Nando seems like forbidden territory, but when Cooper discovers a taste for being tied up and dominated, the enterprising tattoo artist delivers all the excitement Cooper could want.

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Lucius Mettelus Carbo, once a legate on the rise in the Roman army, rescues a beautiful young prostitute, Varick, who immediately stirs him. However, Lucius doesn't believe anyone could want him, a man cursed by the gods with an ugly, twisted leg. He resists his attraction to the pleasure slave as they forge a tempestuous relationship, and Varick tries to convince Lucius that he desires his master despite the injury. Both men are fighting their fears as they strive toward a future together… a future in the shadow of the volcano Mount Vesuvius.

A Timeless Dreams title: While reaction to same-sex relationships throughout time and across cultures has not always been positive, these stories celebrate M/M love in a manner that may address, minimize, or ignore historical stigma.

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During the Christmas holidays, the affluent Haden knocks on the door of Quinn's homeless shelter with a proposition: he wants to help make Christmas a little brighter for the shelter's residents. But Quinn is suspicious of Haden's motives and money. The fact that their worlds are miles apart is painfully clear, and although Quinn finds he just might be able to love Haden, his own prejudices might block the way to a future together.

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Joel Martinez, a practical and organized computer programmer, is roommates with Ian Cooper, a certified IQ-in-the- stratosphere mathematical genius who literally can't find his own underwear in the mess of his day-to-day life. When Joel uneasily leaves Ian for the holidays, he ends up telling stories to his sister and discovers he feels much more for Ian than he thought. So when Ian calls, distraught because the only other thing in his life that loves him (a half-feral cat named Manky Bastard) is going to have to be put down, Joel hurries back home hoping that opposites really do attract.

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